The flat season has officially started and the team are fighting fit and raring to go. Keep an eye out on our social media for entries, and most importantly, our winners!

March's Runner Highlights 

ESCAPE PLAN (pictured above) kicked off the start of the flat season in style when winning at Kempton Park on 30th March. He was drawn in stall one and given a front running ride by Sean Levey over the six furlong distance. He made all, and faced a challenge in the final 110 yards but rallied hard to win by a head, running on past the post. Escape Plan is by Ardad, out of the Choisir mare, Lamya. He is owned by Ms V E Macauley.

Spotlight: The History of the Thoroughbred

Our new mini series will be looking at various different topics over the next few months and focusing on a wide range of industry news as well as interesting racehorse-specific subjects. If you have any suggestions for the series or if there is something that you would like to know more about, then please do let us know by emailing [email protected]  

The thoroughbred was created by man to race in England in the 17th & 18th centuries. The breed have been racing ever since and now compete all over the world, drawing in huge crowds for a thrilling day at the races. Horse racing is the second most spectated sport in the UK and contributes over £4 billion to the economy and over 85,000 jobs (Racing Ahead, 2025). It is one of the oldest sports in the history book dating back to Roman times, however the first race ever recorded was during the reign of King Henry II in London in 1174. The Jockey Club was established in 1740 and many of the basic rules & regulations, such as the handicapping and weight-for-age system, are still in place today.

The modern thoroughbreds ancestry can be traced back to just three foundation stallions that were imported into England during the late 17th and early 18th century. These ‘foundation’ sires were Oriental horses, primarily of Arabian, Barb, and Turkoman breeding and they were selected for their inherent speed and stamina. The stallions were cross bred with native English mares to produce faster, more agile offspring. It is important to note that the selection of these mares was equally significant to the stallions and there was around 100 mares from various English breeds such as the Galloway and Irish Hobby, both of which are now extinct but were known for their hardiness and racing ability.

The first of the imported foundation stallions was the Byerley Turk and he was recorded in the books as being a large dark brown, nearly black stallion with exceptional speed. He was owned by Captain Byerley in 1688 and the pair were deployed to Ireland in 1689 during King William’s war.  It is noted in some records that the Captain ‘narrowly escaped capture, owing his safety to the superior speed of his horse’. The Byerley Turk retired to stud once the Captain retired from the military in 1692, and passed away in 1706, leaving behind a long legacy of progeny including Basto (1704) and Herod (1738). Most branches of the Byerley Turk’s line have now died out.

The second of the imported foundation stallions was the Darley Arabian (pictured below). He became one of the most well-known & prolific sires, and the one we know the most about. This stallion was born in Syria in 1700 and sold for a shipment of rifles and 300 gold sovereigns as a 4 year old to Thomas Darley, a wealthy Englishman and member of the British Consult to Queen Anne. Thomas Darley was tasked with finding a perfect Arab stallion to add to his father’s stud farm and described the horse as ‘immediately striking owing to his handsome appearance with an exceedingly elegant carriage’. The stallion was bred with Darley’s mares between 1705 and 1719 and died in 1730. One of the famous racehorses descending from the Darley Arabian is ECLIPSE (born 1764). He had an impressive career, winning 18 races consecutively. He was said to have near perfect conformation with one unexpected characteristic - an abnormally large heart. Today, 95% of all modern thoroughbreds can trace their Y chromosome back to the Darley Arabian. This ancestral line includes NEARCO and in turn, NORTHERN DANCER - one of the modern thoroughbred’s most influential sires.  

The third and final of the foundation sires is the Godolphin Arabian. It is thought the horse was foaled in Yemen, around 1724 and was eventually given to King Louis XV of France as a gift from the Emperor of Morocco. However, the horse was spotted by an Englishman who bought the horse to England and he was described as a ‘headstrong, small brown bay with a large crest in his neck with beautiful conformation, exquisitely proportioned with large hocks, well let down with legs of iron’. The Godolphin Arabian got his name from the Earl of Godolphin who acquired the horse after the Englishman passed away. The Godolphin Arabian was the sire of a prolific racehorse, REGULUS, who in turn produced SPILETTA, the dam of ECLIPSE (from the Darley Arabian line).

There is however an unofficial fourth sire, Alcock’s Arabian, who is believed to be the ancestor of all grey thoroughbreds. This grey horse was imported to England in approximately 1704. Interestingly, a horse will only be grey if they have at least one parent that is grey and because at one time the coat colour ‘grey’ was undesirable, it was bred out of the breed significantly. For example, in the late 1700s, there could be as many as six or seven greys in a single race, but by 1815, there was only twenty-eight grey broodmares recorded in England. Today greys are more desirable and because they are still quite rare they are quite sought after.

The thoroughbred breed’s successful development was hugely enabled by the original work of James Weatherby who collected pedigrees of racehorses of his time. This led to the first volume of the General Stud Book in 1791. Accurate record-keeping to track bloodlines and the desire to make informed decisions in horse selection and breeding led to the now established thoroughbred registry that compiles all records of imported stallions, covered mares, and foal details. This truly standardised the breed and made it so that all horses competing in thoroughbred races around the world are bred within the line of the thoroughbred.

Breezin' On Up 

The start of the flat season means it’s also the time again for the Breeze Ups. The sales showcase the raw, natural talent of two-year-olds with a short gallop over 2 furlongs before heading into the sales ring.

Tom Ward Racing has had a lot of success with horses purchased from the breeze up sales. TRANSPARENT (pictured below) is one example. The colt was purchased for 54,000gns at the 2024 Tattersalls Guineas breeze ups. He was a lot of fun for his owners; racing 11 times, winning twice and placing six times to earn over £27,000 in prize money. He was then sold at the horses-in-training sale in October 2025 for 80,000gns to race in Bahrain.

The more recent breeze up purchase, ABUNDANT, has already given his owners a thrilling two-year-old season with a win and 2 placings in only three starts! Abundant was purchased from the Tattersalls Ireland breeze ups for 42,000 euros. He is sure to give his owners another exciting season this year.

If you would like a thrilling summer on the track, then get in contact today to discuss your requirements. Tom will be going to all the major sales in the UK and Ireland. The dates for these are:

Tattersalls UK Craven Breeze Ups 13 - 15 April

Goffs UK Breeze Ups 21 - 22 April

Tattersalls UK Guineas Breeze Up 29 - 30 April

Tattersalls Ireland Breeze Up 21 - 22 May

Goffs Ireland Classic Breeze Up 27 June.

Horsebox 

There is an exciting new platform that is set to be THE place to go to purchase your syndicate or racing club shares. We are delighted to announce that Tom Ward Racing has two horses on the platform. Keep an eye out on their socials for the official announcement!

Based in London, Horsebox founder Fraser Ralston had an idea that there needed to be a ‘go-to’ place to open up racehorse ownership to the public that was straightforward and transparent. All the trainers on the platform are BHA-licensed with their new ‘license to manage syndicates’, that was implemented earlier this year. The horses advertised in ‘real-time’ so you can easily see how many people are in the syndicate and how many spots are still available.

At the moment, we have The Scout Syndicate and our Join The Party Racing Subscription on the platform and we hope it generates lots of new interest in Tom Ward Racing!  

Check out their website - Horsebox

Horses For Sale 

At Whitehouse Stables we have a selection of different ownership options to suit everyone’s budget. This could be the purchase of a horse outright, or maybe even a smaller share. Please see below a selection of horses on offer at the moment - head to our website or email [email protected] for more information!

2024 BAAEED ex KINGDOM GIRL

The Scout Syndicate has a new recruit! This athletic filly has a sire who needs no introduction. She is by BAAEED, the highest rated horse since Frankel whose flawless career saw 6 Group 1 wins and over £2.3 million in prize money. The filly’s dam, KINGDOM GIRL, by Kingman, was a winner herself and a half sister to Group 2 & 3 winners in HATTA FORT and BLUE BAYOU. This filly is registered for the lucrative GBB scheme, and can earn up to an extra £100,000. The buy-in is for the 2026 AND 2027 season & includes all pre-training, training, keep and UK racing costs.

£3,000 for 2 seasons

SO TEMPTING

17.5% left! This sharp, 2 year old filly is registered for the valuable GBB scheme. She is by SERGEI PROKOFIEV, and out of the Excelebration mare, EXACTING. Her dam is a proven 2-y-o producer with Doitforandrew (RPR 95) and she is from a good family of sprinters including DISTINCTIVE (Gr. 3 Clyde Stakes) & MGHEERA (Gr. 3 Prix St George & Gr.2 Temple Stakes).

So Tempting looks to hit the track in the early summer. The costs below include all pre-training, training, and keep until May 2026. There is the option after for another all in fee for training, keep and racing costs or the option to pay monthly. 

12.5% = £4,500 / 5% = £1,800